GameGadget – Retro Gaming On The Go!

Friday 6th April will see many retro gamers like ourselves drooling in anticipation of the arrival of the newly released kit by Blaze, known simply as GameGadget.

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What the heck is it, you ask!

Well, according to gamegadget.net‘it’s like an iPod, for games’ – big, big claim! Let’s not forget what a revolutionary device the iPod was!

It’s a gaming hub for your beloved, gorgeous 16-bit games.

In short, what they are trying to tell us is that their sleek, sexy little handheld will change the way you play retro games!

At first glance we see a familiar layout – D-Pad, X,Y,A & B buttons, Start, Select & Reset buttons along with the L & R shoulder triggers. The unit also has the oh, so important SD Card expansion slot.

The thing which makes this puppy a bit different is their willingness to chance having a go at a developers market place.

Will developers take up this opportunity to make new, fresh, 16-bit titles, if so, will GameGadget allow dev’s to set their own prices or will they overestimate demand, driving them into quick retreat?

From their Pre-Order pack what we can tell is the pricing they have so far advertised is quite high; valuing what are essentially rom files for £4.99.

The potential for the market place is very high, according to the official website ‘GameGadget’s mission is to create the largest database of retro video games ever, with legal downloads for every game for every retro gaming format.’ <- that statement is HUGE!

If you pre-order the unit (Get in quick!) they are offering 30 games for ‘free’ (Apparently worth £149.70……. uh-huh) – these are all Sega Mega Drive titles – to be fair they have chosen a pretty decent bunch o’ games!

Having read the official GameGadget site there seems to be conflicting information knocking about on other websites offering the system, for example:

GameGadget.net: GameGadget also supports new games (as long as they are developed within the 16 bit environment)

Amazon: “video game platforms up to and including 32bits”

Amazon also state that the device is to be released on Apr 27th on the UK, whereas the official GameGadget site states 6th Apr.

What I personally love about this device is its AV out – meaning you can hook it up to your TV!

So GameGadget, get the prices right (Think App Store prices!) and you’ll have an army of retro gaming fans under your wing – get it wrong and you will fade away with the likes of Liberty X.

Stats:

CPU core: 433mhz dual core CPU

Internal Ram: 64MB RAM / 2GB Flash RAM

Input: D-Pad, 2 shoulder, 4 face, Start, Select & Reset buttons

Outputs: Stereo Speakers, Headphones Jack & TV-out

Display: 3.5″ LC

Screen Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels resolution (16 BIT colour)

Battery: Li-Ion (rechargeable)

Additional Storage: SD/SDHC

Connectivity: Micro USB

Dimensions: 140 W x 75 H x 16 D (mm)

Are you looking forward to this Sega Blaze rival? Will you be ditching your emulator heavy PSP?Let us know by Tweeting @GamesShed

If in the mean time you are looking for a quick retro gaming fix, remember to visit out YouTube channel: The Games Shed